Street gate-box



(No Model.) I

J. L. BROWN. STREET GATE BOX.

No. 537,182. Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

n: nonms PETERS co. mofo-|.|mo., WASHINGTON UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

JOHN L. BROWN, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

STREET GATE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,182, dated April 9,1 895.

Application filed October 12, 1894:- Serial No. 525,692- (No model.)

.TO all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. BROWN, a resident of Allegheny, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement inStreet Gatelxes; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to street gate boxes,- that is, to the large gateboxes employed in streets over main valves of water or gas pipes. Theseboxes have generally been built of wood with an iron cover resting on aniron ring supported on a wooden gate box, the cover and ring being evenwith the surface of the street and being subjected to the Weight and jarof passing wagons and like vehicles. The principal difficulties found insuch boxes have been that they were liable to decay, as any wooden body,and were especially liable to such decay on account of the entrance ofwater from the surface of the street and percolatin g down through thepavement; the fact being that the life of such boxes is generally notmore than a year or two, and it then becoming necessary to tear up thestreet and dig out the box and replace it. Where asphalt and likepavements are employed this is a very great ob ection as it requires thesubsequent patching of the pavement which always leads to the rapid wearof the same, and with any form of pavement, it is an objection becauseof the disturbance of the street, which necessarily leads to thesettling of the earth around the box and to irregularity in the surfaceitself. The difficulty experienced with the iron gate boxes heretoforein use has been the varying distances from the main under the street to1 the street surface, as the mains are buried according to the fixedgrades which may not always be the same distance from the streetsurface, and such distance also varies where the gate box is in thecenter or on one side of the street. This rendered it almostimpracticable to use iron gate boxes, and for that reason the generaluse of the old wooden gate boxes has continued.

. The object of my invention is to provide an iron gate box suitable foruse with large main valves located under the roadway; which will providefree access to the gate box; which is practically indestructible; andalso provide a box which could be so built up as to properly fit themain and extend even with the street 3 surface. I

To enable others skilled in the art to make and usemy invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the gate boxinvolved in myinvention. Fig. 2 is a like section at right angles thereto ofa box of adifferent height. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one of the sections. v

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

The gate box embodying the invention is formed of a series of ringssuchas the rings a, b, c, d, and e which may be circular, oblong or ofother shape. The lower ring a is provided with a broad base a to restupon the ground, and has also semi-circular recesses f formed therein tofit the main, the valve extending up within thebody of the gate box.

It is not considered necessary to illustrate the valve as it will beunderstood that the gate box is to be employed with any large gate orlike valve which extends up within the box, and to which access isobtained through the mouth or upper end it of the ring d, by the removalof the cover g.

It will be noticed that the bodies of the rings except at the top ringeare made tapering in cross section as at j, and are tapered upwardly,so giving a thicker body in the lower part of each ring than at theupper end thereof. They are so constructed, first, to form a wedgesurface on the outside to resist the action of the frost in tending toraise the box, the earth being packed around the outer faces of therings which increase gradually in circumference from the top to thebottom, so that the rings are all wedged within the ground by thepacking of the same around them and upward movement by the frost isprevented, and, second, so that neat joints may be formed between therings, the upper edge of one of the rings as at i forming an annulartongue which fits into an annular groove is in the base of the ringabove the same. The rings are made of different heights, or as it mightpossibly be termed lengths, several different heights or lengths of suchringsbeing provided so that when the distance from the ground to the topsurface is accurately determined, a box of the exact length required canbe built up from the different lengths or heights of rings. Thevariation necessary between them need not be less than an inch, as thebox is not required to fit tightly around the main and can generally beadjusted to that extent; and by having rings of different heights, sayfrom three (3) to seven (7) or eight (8) inches respectively, any lengthof gate box desired can be easily built up. The upper ring e is,asshown,formed with a mouth 7i somewhat contracted, and has at its upperend the seat Z to receive the cover g. The mouth 7!. may however be madeconsiderably larger than those employed with the wooden gate box, as thecast metal box is rigid and strong, and gives a more substantial supportto the cover. As this upper section or ring 6 is directly subjected tothejars, it can be made heavier than the lower rings, and it ispreferred to brace it at suitable points, such as the ribs e on itsupper inner face which impart strength to the ring. These ribs aregenerally formed only on the lower part of the ring ewhere itiscontracted from the general diameter of the box to the diameter of themouth 72, the upper part of the ring a being made of full thickness towithstand the jars to which it is directly subjected.

It will be noticed that the outer face n of the upper part of the ring eis perpendicular, the inclined portion on of the ring forming theconnection between the same and the rings below it. Such perpendicularface 77. is made to form a surface against which the blocks of theordinary block pavement can rest directly, so that said blocks can bebuilt up close to the body of the gate box and a stronger support bothto the pavement and to the gate box itself be obtained.

In order to secure the several sections or rings of the gate boxtogether, I employ tie rods 19, the lower ends of which extend throughlugs g on the lower section a, while the upper ends extend through theholes 1' in the top section e the ends of the rods being bentover asshown at Fig. 2,so as to rest upon the outer face of the inclinedportion m of the top ring. Nuts q can be employed on the lower ends ofthe rods after they are so placed in position and the several rings bythis means clamped firmly together.

In the use of the gate box when the distance between the main and thestreet sur face is ascertained, the gate box is built up of sections ofthe proper height or length, such sections fitting the one upon theother and being held in line by tongued and grooved connections iand k,abovedescribed, and one, two, or more, rings being employed between thebottom section a and the top section c, it being possible in this way tobuild up a gate box which will be the proper height between the main andthe top surface of the street. Variations inch by inch of a foot ormore,

and, indeed, several feet may thus be provided, and the gate box is madeapplicable for use in different parts of the country Where on account ofthe different depths of the frost line, the mains must be sunk todifferent depths in the ground. As soon as the proper height of box isbuilt up, the tic-rods p are secured in place extending from the lugs qto the top ring 6 being then bent over on the outer surface of the topring, or held in other suitable way, and then the sections of the boxclamped firmly together by means of the nuts q. When the boxes areplaced over the gas mains they are accurately adjusted so as to bringtheir top surfaces even with the streetlevel. The earth is then filledaround them and firmly packed around the outer surface of the severalrings and as such rings have downwardly flared (or upwardly tapering)faces, it will be evident that the packing of the earth around the sameacts to firmly wedge the gate box within the ground. In case of theaction of the frost upon the gate box, it will simply act upon thedifferent inclined surfaces and will practically have no bearing powerto raise the box unless the whole mass of earth should rise, and in caseof such unusualdisturbance when the ground settles down again, the gatebox will settle with it. I am thus enabled to provide a gate box whichis practically indestructible; not liable to movement from frost or likeaction in the ground; overcomes the necessity of frequent tearing up ofthe street to replace the box; and gives a freer space to enable theworkmen to repair the valve, because the walls of the box itself arecomparatively thin and the necessity of interior bracing is entirelyovercome. At the same time, as the mouth can be made larger, practicallyany part of the valve contained within the gate box, such as the stem,cap, and disks, can be removed through the same, and there is nonecessity of disturbing the box except where the valve body itself isrequired to be removed. It also provides means for the laying ofgranite, or asphalt block or sheet, pavement close to the body of thegate box so insuring a much smoother street surface, which, in theimproved manner of laying roadways, is of great importance.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- 1. In a gate box, the combination of a bottom ring having a broadflange and a recess in the base thereof to fit over the pipe, andhorizontal rings or sections of different heights built on said basering, a top ring having at the lower portion a part inclined from thebase toward the axis and above the same a vertical portion extending tothe surface of the ground, substantially as set forth.

2. In a gate box, the combination of a bot tom ring havinga broad flangeand a recess in the base thereof to fit over the pipe, and horizontalrings or sections of different heights built on said base ring, a topring having at In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN L.

BROWN, have hereunto set my hand.

' JOHN L. BROWN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT C. TOITEN, L. DE B. LITTLE.

